A group of Lyon residents want more transparency in government by televising township meetings.

This handful of longtime township residents met last week at a local coffee shop to talk about how they have tried to get cameras into Lyon Township Hall for more than 10 years, but each effort was dashed for lack of support. They all want to see the monthly meetings videotaped.

Televising the meetings will give residents a chance to hear every word and watch every move made during meetings, said Phil Mitchell, a New Hudson resident, adding it will create a record of events for residents, developers and elected officials in case an exact accounting of what happened is needed.

Rich Miller, a township resident with a 31-year background in television production, attended the small gathering. He said he once submitted a bid to provide the taping services, but he said he never heard further and the issue was dropped.

Another resident said, “it isn’t a witch hunt” against elected officials.

Time to revisit

When asked his stance on televising meetings, Supervisor Lannie Young said camera equipment and related expenses to record township board meetings were out of the question during the economic downturn. But now that the economy has rebounded he would take the issue to the full board of trustees and ask how the members feel about the change. Board minutes have sufficed so far, he said.

“We have the website and we post everything on the website,” he said. “The people who really want to know what’s going on come to the meeting. But this is worth talking about. I’ve never been opposed to it.

“Right now I don’t know what the flavor is among the board members,” Young said.

Proponents of recorded municipal meetings said it fits the variety of residents in the community.

Televised meetings would serve residents and business owners, especially those with young families, busy careers or both, who don’t have time to attend the board meetings. If the meetings were available for viewing online residents could go back and look at them at their leisure, Miller said.

South Lyon and Novi, as well as South Lyon Community Schools, record their meetings and post them online. It’s “mind-boggling,” Miller said, that Lyon Township is the fastest-growing community in the county and meetings aren’t available online.

“You can watch everything from anywhere in the world online,” Miller said. “Why not the township meetings?”

Young said previous cost estimates for the needed equipment ran from $30,000 to $40,000.

“The officials shouldn’t take it personally,” Mitchell said. “This holds everyone accountable. We all have our own bias and the video is there to remove the bias. Everyone has to be accountable.”